Red tape and regulations are ‘smothering British businesses’

One district council say its insurers advised them to put the sign up over health and safety fears. The average business owner now spends over a quarter of their time grinding through admin and battling red tape and regulations. - SWNS

Published:11:24Friday 10 February 2017

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The average small business owner now spends over a quarter of their time battling red tape and regulations.

A survey of 500 SMEs by online printing company Instantprint revealed that hurdles like HR compliance, health and safety demands and pension admin are stopping owners from growing their enterprise.

These distractions and other admin tasks eat up an average of 10 hours of the working week.

One in ten business owners has less than an hour a week earmarked for business growth, while eight per cent say they struggle to find any time at all.

Employment law surrounding working hours and holiday allowance was also mentioned as a significant blight on work efficiency.

James Kinsella, co-founder of instantprint, said: “We all know how it feels to fight the clock. There are only so many hours in the day to get everything done and SMEs are feeling the squeeze.

“It’s interesting to see from the research that, while factors such as admin and staff management have an impact on productivity, it is the management of our hours, minutes and seconds that have the biggest effect on the running of a successful enterprise.”

Fifty three per cent of those polled feel their minutes ebbing away under work admin and report writing, and thirty three per cent are unable to find the time they need to run their business effectively.

A third of business owners could use a hand managing their finances to save time, while 22 per cent feel that responding to customer service concerns could be streamlined.

One in two business owners feel most productive before 12pm, while just over a quarter operate at their best between midday and the 3pm mid-afternoon slump.

Forty six per cent of those surveyed have a tea or coffee on the go to power them through their daily tasks, and a third put on their favourite playlist to get them in the zone.

And if you have a work slog ahead of you, solitary confinement is the way to go. Twenty seven per cent of business owners hit their stride when working alone, compared to the seventeen per cent who operate best as part of a team.

Co-founder of instantprint, James Kinsella, who commissioned the research, added: “Every business is unique, but improving time management and optimising working hours can only bring positive outcomes to the UK’s SMEs.”